Beyond Time and Darkness
by AlexMontgomery
Summary: Serena couldn't tell you who she is, or why she woke up as a Skitty gijinka, when she knows she's fully human. She couldn't tell you why she sees the past or future on occasion. But Serena will tell you, when the world's in danger she sure as hell will stand up and fight. PMD2/Gijinka. Rated - T
1. Prologue

**Authors Note:** I was re-playing the game earlier the past week and… I couldn't help it. I love PMD2 so much! And I went down the gijinka road simply to try something different.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explores of Time/Darkness/Sky, or anything associated with Pokémon.

* * *

**Prologue**

"Please, be careful!" my friend tells me. She has both of my hands in hers. "I don't doubt that you will be given even more trouble now. The agents will be all the more persistent."

"We know," says my partner. "But we're not the only one who need to be careful."

Releasing my hands, my friends smirk at my partner. "Worrying about me, huh?" she teased. "Well, I appreciate the concern, but they'll never be able to catch me."

I smile as my partner leaps into the portal made for us by our friend. "Thank you," I tell her. "But, he is right. You're in as much trouble as we are for helping us. You need to take care of yourself, too."

I envy the air of confidence around my friend. "Come on, you and I both know I can't be caught!" she grins. Her head turns to the side, the smile quickly dies. "You nave to go, now, while you still can."

I look back at my friend once more before I jump in after my partner. Once I'm through, I immediately feel the strangest sensation. I assume it's normal for something like this. I can't imagine there have been many humans who travel through time like this. Even then, I'm positive Pokémon have can handle this better than humans.

I glance up at my partner and groan. He's so much farther ahead of me, like always. Even when we were young, he was always so much stronger and faster than I will ever be. Now that we've grown a bit, not much has changed. On more than one occasion, I've had to rise on my partners back as he ran in order to escape our pursuers. Perhaps I should have stayed behind. There is so much riding on this mission, we can't afford to screw up because I'm always falling behind. "I'm sorry," I say when I catch up with him. "I should have stayed behi-"

My partner bops me on the head. "Don't be stupid," he says. "you and I both know we work best as a team."

I rub the spot on my head where he hit me. "Fine," I say. "Have it your way."

But I know he's right. For better or worse we never would have gotten this far if we never met as children. We were so close to saving the world, I wouldn't have gotten this far without my partner. It scared me, to a point. I managed to push the fear aside, I know there's something more important. My partner and I have to fix what was made wrong.

"How much longer until we get there?" I ask, falling behind again. I'm light headed, and my limbs feel stiff. My vision's doubled, and it's hard to keep upright. I'm surprised I don't fall over.

My partner stops, and looks back at me. He's concerned about me. He was about to say something when I notice a bolt of black lighting. It was headed straight for my partner. "Watch out!" I scream.

With adrenaline running through me, I push forward. I shove my partner out of the bolts path, leaving me in the line of fire. I'm struck in my side, pain pulsing through my being. I collapse to the… ground… gripping my injury, I barely hear my partner calling my name.

The bolt burned through my coat and shirt. They skin feels hot to the touch, with some kind of puss leaking out. It's hard to think, and I'm so very tired. I can't go to sleep now. I need to know where my partner is. "Are you…" I pant. I'm struggling to get onto my knees. "Are you okay?!"

The overwhelming pain, mixed with the dreariness I feel make it difficult for me to see. My vision is distorted and it's really hard to think now. My partner yells my name again, he runs up to me. Getting onto his knees, he wrappers his hands around my forearm, and tries to pull me forward. This confused me.

I looked down at the lower half of my body to find some sort of black substance pulling me into an abyss. It had me up to my thighs. I try so hard to hold onto my partner, but my grip is really weak now. "D-Don't let go!" my partner shouts. He's as much strength has he can muster to pull me up. But the substance won't let me go. "Just a little longer!"

I slip out of his grip momentarily, and fall farther in. When he grabs my hand, I'm up to my shoulders. I'm blinking in and out of consciousness, and it doesn't take me much longer to realize I'm dying.

I look up at my partner. I had never seen him so scared. "Sorry…" I say. My voice sounds to unusual to my years. "Looks like… you'll have to go on without me…"

"Don't!" my partner yells. "I won't let you go! Just hold on!"

"It's okay…" I murmur.

My partner growls through his teeth, as though to tell me not to give up so soon. Not when we've come this far already. That I shouldn't give up because it's not me. But I can't last much longer, and we're wasting time like this. My hand begins to slip. Our fingertips lock slightly, until I'm out of his grip entirely. "No!"

I feel like I'm thrown about. The pain in my side intensifies. But as soon as it flairs up, it subsides and I become very, very cold. My heart beat is distant to my ears, and I'm no longer breathing. I am about to die.

"Really, now?" I hear suddenly. I can't open my eyes, so I'm unable to see who's speaking to me. The voice is like a child speaking, but I can't figure out if it's a boy or girl. "Do you _really_ want to die? You haven't even accomplished your goal yet."

It's not that I want to die, but… whatever I protected my partner from was enough to kill someone. It's killed me after so much pain. "And I'm sorry you had to suffer through that," the voice said. Could it read my thoughts? "Yeah, you can say that."

Really? How?

"I can't explain right now," said the voice. "We need to work on saving you."

How? I'm not dumb, I know I'm dying. "I can save your spirit," the voice explained. My spirit? "Your body is about to die, yes, but not your spirit. If you want, I can give you a new life. I can shape your new form as close to your old as possible. Is this what you want?"

Yes. I don't want to, and can't die just yet. I have to continue with my mission. "That's good to hear," the voice said. I feel something. Something strangely wonderful… I… I can't quite put it into words. "Now go. Your new adventure is about to begin."

Before I can ask anything, I feel myself be dropped once more. I hear a splash, and water begins to fill my ears. I'm completely submerged. I struggle to break through to the surface, my limbs refuse to listen to me. When I finally come up for air, I struggle to stay afloat, and my eyes sting. But I can tell its night out. It's night, and I've been dropped in the sea, in the middle of a storm.

I'm gasping for air, but I'm hardly given a chance to breath. A strong wave pounds on me, forcing me back under once more. I thrash about, in a struggle to get my head above water. Why won't my limbs listen?!

My head breaks through the water again. Spitting out water, I shouted, "Hel-!"

Before I can finish my plea, I'm dragged back under water again. The force of the waves carries me about. My limbs still won't work properly as I try to swim. My head breaks through for air. I struggle to stay afloat. Lightning flashes above my head, thunder rumbles, and rain pounds on my already cold self. "Is someone out there?!" I scream. "Someone help me!"

But I doubt anyone would be out at sea in this storm, let alone hear my cries. I'm stupid.

I turn my head around to find another wave headed right for me. The wave dunks me back under water, and I'm carried away. I finally feel sand beneath my feet. My limbs shake as I struggle to pull myself to shore. I collapse to the ground, its so difficult to keep myself consciousness.

No!

No! I can't… I can't… bl… black out… now…


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One  
****After the Storm**

The boy in a yellow jacket, paced back and forth in front of the hut in the shape of a Wigglytuff's head. A torch was lit on either side of the hut, while the Pikachu gijinka stood outside of the wooden grate. He had a pair of Pikachu ears poking through his shaggy brown hair, and a tail sticking out from the back of his light brown jeans. A brown cored with a stone cradled inside hung around his neck. The Pikachu stopped and looked up at the hut, he bit his lower lip.

"_I'm going to go out and form an Exploration Team!"_

"_Ha ha! Are you joking, Number Five?!"_

"_You can be afraid of your own shadow."_

"_How are you supposed to take out bad guy's like that?"_

"No!" Pikachu scolded himself. He pounded himself on either side of the head. "I refuse to be paralyzed by this any longer! This is it, Pikachu! You have you steel your courage today!"

Taking a deep breath, Pikachu stepped onto the wooden grate. "Pokémon detected!" a voice yelled, taking Pikachu by surprise. "Pokémon detected!"

"Whose footprint?" another voice blared. "Whose footprint?"

"The footprint is Pikachu's! The footprint is Pikachu's!"

"WHA!" Pikachu cried. He fell back, off the grate and onto the dirt ground. "Wasn't expecting that…"

Pikachu sat on his knees, and looked down at his special stone. His treasure, something he hoped would help him make a difference today. He actually made it to the top of the stairs today. "I'm such a coward…" he said to himself.

With a heavy heart, Pikachu stood up. He slid his hands into his pants pocket and traveled down the long stair case. He walked silently through Treasure Town, and two the local beach. He still couldn't help but feel sorry for himself. Pikachu left home months ago with the full intention of becoming an explorer. His brothers and sisters laughed at him for this, saying he was too timid, and scared. _Guess they were right, _Pikachu though. His ears drooped at the thought.

The bubbles floating around him caught his eyes. Pikachu looked out to sea, the bubbles floating around, and the sun reflecting on the water made him very happy. Behind him he could hear the Krabby, the source of the bubbles, happily sing, celebrating the good weather. Pikachu couldn't blame them, after all the storm last night was pretty fierce.

Smiling, Pikachu took a deep breath in. On a whim, he turned his head to the left. There, a few feet away from him, Pikachu saw a girl dressed in pink, with clear features of a Skitty, passed out in the sand. "Hey!" Pikachu exclaimed. He hurried to the girl's side. "Are you all right?! Come on, open your eyes!"

* * *

"Hey! Are you all right?! Come on, open your eyes!"

I blink a few times before I pull myself onto my knees. I shake my head. Ugh, what hit me? "You're away!" someone says in relief. I look up to see a brown haired boy in a yellow jacket with long yellow and black ears. A Pikachu? "That's a relief. I thought you were… well, never mind that. I'm just glad you're okay, Skitty."

Skitty? "Wha…" I say wearily. My voice sounds hoarse, and I'm still a little dizzy. "Why'd you call me 'Skitty?'"

"What else am I supposed to call you?" asks Pikachu. "You look like a regular Skitty to me."

"Huh?"

I'm really confused. Slowly, I get onto my feet, and make my way over to the water to look at my reflection. Staring back at me is a girl with long pink hair, and purple eyes. She's wearing a pink, short-sleeved jacket with an ivory tube top. Her skirt is ivory with pink spandex shorts underneath. On the top of her head protrudes pink ears.

My heart races in my chest as my hands reach up and touch the ears. Sure enough, they're mine. "I HAVE EARS!" I scream. I reach behind my head and grab two locks of hair. "MY HAIR IS PINK! WHY'S MY HAIR PINK?!"

"What else is a Skitty supposed to have?!" Pikachu yells back. His hands cover his own ears. "You're strange, even for a Skitty."

"I'm not a Skitty!" I yell back. "I'm human! Like, _human_, human! No ears like this, or a tail! Wait, do I have a tail?"

"I'm not a Skitty!" the pink gijinka yelled. "The last thing I remember is that I'm human! Like human! No ears like this, or a tail! Wait, do I have a tail?"

I look behind me, walking in a circle a few times in my attempt find something. I stumble over after loosing my balance. Pikachu scratches the back of his head, no doubt just as confused as I am. "But you seem like a normal Skitty to me."

I sit up. "I don't get it either," I say as I stand back up. "I don't… I don't remember anything from before. I just know I'm supposed to be human."

"Are you trying to pull some kind of trick on me?"

"Why would I make something like this up?!" I snap. I think I'm about to cry. I don't understand any of this, and I don't understand who _I_ am. What am I supposed to do?

Pikachu grips his chin in thought. "Well…" he says. "Your name. If you were you were human, you should have a name, right?"

I'm pretty sure my ears perk up. My name… Pikachu's right, if I was human, I should have a name. Name… name… name… What's my name?

I think I can remember something. Someone yelling for me. Wait…

"Serena!" I say out loud. I'm pretty sure I have the biggest, stupidest grin on my face. But it's such a relief to at least remember something about myself. "My name is Serena!"

"Serena!" She said out loud. So relieved that she could at least remember _something_ about herself. "My name is Serena!"

Pikachu smiled. "You don't seem that bad…" he murmurs. "Alright, then Serena, I'm Pikachu!"

Something behind Pikachu catches my eye. I tilt my head to the side. "Em… Pikachu?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know them?"

He looks over his shoulder. Behind him are two older boys. One dressed in purple punk clothes with shaggy hair. The boy beside him is dressed in blue and purple with a style similar to his friends, and a pair of dark goggles over his eyes. Koffing shoves Pikachu to the ground. The rock that hung from his necklace slips out of its cradle, and onto the ground at Koffing and Zubat's feet. Laughing to himself, Zubat snatches up Pikachu's rock, then darts off into the cave behind me with Koffing tailing behind him. "Why didn't you do something?" I ask. Pikachu's ears lower, and he looks down at his feet.

"I-I wanted to…" Pikachu says with a faltering voice. "B-But…"

He frezes in place. Sighing, I walk into the mouth of the cave. "H-Hey, where're you going?!" Pikachu calls.

"To get your rock back," I reply.

Calling for me to wait, Pikachu runs up to my side. Inside of the cave, was moist. Water pools up around on the floor, dripping over head from the stalactites. I wonder absently, if the cave is ever effected by the tide, but it's probably a stupid question. That close to the shoreline, it had to be.

I look up at Pikachu, he's shaking by my side. "What are you so worried about?" asked Serena. "There's bound to be water-type Pokémon here. You're electric. You know, strong against water."

"Y-Yeah, but…" Pikachu struggles tog et the right words out. "It's kind of… creepy."

I fail to see how this place could be considered creepy. Not when you could find small gold coins on the floor. Pikachu explained to me that it was their currency. If you could find money like this, how could you find the place scary?

In the caves pit, we find Zubat, and Koffing. They're gloating over their recent steal. Pikachu shoots me a quick, nervous look. I jerk my head in the direction of the opposing Pokémon. I want to say _'It's your treasure, not mine. _You_ speak up.'_

"H-Hey!" Pikachu says. This gets Zubat and Koffing's attention.

"Well, well, well," Koffing says, turning around. He smirks to himself as he slides his hands into his pants pockets. "If it isn't our old friend, the big chicken."

Pikachu flinches at the insult. "Give me…" he forces out. "Give me back my treasure! It means everything to me!"

"Treasure, you say," Zubat says, clearly intrigued. He tosses Pikachu's treasure up into the air, then back into his palm. "So this thing is really valuable, huh?"

"It could be worth more than we'd hope for, I'd say," says Koffing. "We ought to try selling it. Who knows? It might get a good price. All the more reason not to give it back."

"What?!" Pikachu gasps.

"You do realize 'treasure' has more than one meaning, right?" I speak up. "Just give it back already!"

Zubat tosses up the rock once more. "If you want it back so badly, come and get it!"

"You're on!" I shout, crouching down.

"Wait, Serena," Pikachu says in a hushed tone. "Do you even know how to attack?"

"Nope."

I run straight for Koffing. I slam my shoulder into his chest, then Zubat slams into me, knocking me off my feet. I hear Pikachu yelp. Bolts of electricity emits from his body. A volt hits Zubat with a force that throws him back against the cave wall. He moans before he falls back into a dead faint. "Zubat!" Koffing shouts. "You twerps are gonna pay for that."

He inhales, and lets out a rancid gas into the air. Pikachu's hands covers his mouth. "It's Poison Gas!" he shouts.

I shake my head in a futile attempt to distract myself from the gas. Words suddenly appear in my head, and I know what to do. "Zen…" I cough. Zen Headbutt!"

I sprint up to Koffing. My head suddenly feels weird. Even before I ram into Koffing. As soon as my head beats into Koffing he's flow back beside Zubat. His head leans against his friends shoulder as he faints.

"B-Blast it," murmurs Koffing. "How'd we get wiped out by a wimps like them?"

"I'm going to say it again, and I won't repeat myself," I say, crossing my arms over my chest. "Give Pikachu his item back!"

"Fine, take it!" shouts Zubat. He tosses Pikachu's treasure at his feet.

Both Koffing and Zubat struggle to their feet. "Don't think you're so awesome," says Zubat. "Your victor was a fluke!"

They hurry past up, no doubt headed for the exit. Pikachu smiles as he picks up the rock. He places it back in the cord around his neck. We walk out of the cave, with Pikachu beaming the whole time. "Thank you, Serena," says Pikachu. "I really can't thank you enough!"

That Thunder Shock seemed pretty strong, though. Really, I think he could have handled himself on his own. Still, he seems pretty happy, so I'm glad I could help. "I call it my Relic Fragment," Pikachu explains, showing the rock to me.

I look down at it's flat surface. There's a beautiful, delicate pattern painted on it. It wasn't like anything I had ever seen before. Or, at least, I'm pretty sure I've never seen before. "That pattern," I say thoughtfully. "It's… odd."

"Isn't it?" asks Pikachu. "I've always wanted to discover it's secret. It has to fit somewhere, I know it!"

I shrug. It really didn't seem like anything I had an interest in. "Serena," Pikachu grabs my hands into his own. I can only imagine the expression on my face. "I need to ask you something. Would you… Would you form an exploration team with me?!"

His face is suddenly up close to mine. Uncomfortably close. Our noses are just barely touching each other. "Uh…" I breath out. "Wha?"

"I'm convinced I can form an effective exploration team with you, Serena," Pikachu continues. His grip on my hands tighten. "So… please say you will!"

I blink. Twice.

What am I supposed to do? I don't even know what he means by an 'exploration team.' Then again, it's not like I have anywhere to go. I don't remember who I was before waking up. And maybe… maybe we can learn what happed to me if I agree to this.

"I… I suppose it couldn't hurt," I say.

"Really?!" Pikachu's eyes light up. "_Really_ really?!"

"Well… Yeah," I say in earnest. "I'll form an exploration team with you."

"Yes!" Pikachu exclaimed. He wraps an arm around my neck. "Thank you! We're gonna be the greatest team, I just know it! We're off to Wigglytuff's Guild!"

"We're off to _where_?"

* * *

**Authors Note:** For the record, I created Serena years before X and Y.


End file.
